Wind Storm Wreaks Havoc In California

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - The most powerful winds to tear across California
in years kept 9-year-old Dalen Guyton up late into the night. Then,
around midnight, came the boom.

The great yawning tree that stood next to his grandmother's house,
the one with the rope swing he and his sisters played on, had toppled,
coming within inches of their one-story home.

On Thursday, the siblings stood out front surveying the
damage, like thousands across the West where high winds toppled
countless trees, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands and brought
gusts of 123 mph.

"If she pays someone to clean it up, it's not going to be a good
Christmas," said the boy, who was wearing a Santa hat. "She's not going
to be able to get any presents."

The National Weather Service called Southern California's winds
Wednesday night a once-in-a-decade event, and it's not over. Winds were
expected to pick up again Thursday night, though they won't be as
fierce.

In the mountains, winds were expected to gust up to 65 mph into Friday morning and 50 mph in the valleys.

High wind warnings and advisories were also issued for Utah, Nevada,
Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico. The blustery weather is expected to
eventually hit Oklahoma, Missouri and Indiana.

The storms were the result of a dramatic difference in pressure
between a strong, high-pressure system and a cold, low-pressure system,
meteorologists said. This funnels strong winds down mountain canyons and
slopes. The winds reached 123 mph at a ski resort northwest of Denver and topped 102 mph in Utah.

California, however, was the hardest hit, with more than 330,000
utility customers still without power late Thursday. The gusts were
blamed for toppling semitrailers and causing trees to fall on homes,
apartment complexes and cars.

A state of emergency was declared in Los Angeles County, where schools in a dozen communities were closed.

In some neighborhoods, concrete light poles cracked in half. Darkened
traffic signals and fallen palm tree fronds and branches snarled
traffic. At a Shell station, the roof collapsed into a heap of twisted
metal.

"It was a terrifying ride for me, coming here in pitch dark ... and
watching motorists take no notice of lights being out," said Bob
Spencer, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Works.

The last time that Southern California was battered by such intense
winds was in January 2007, when similarly high gusts toppled trees and
made a mess.

Bill Patzert, a climate expert with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
lives in Sierra Madre and, like hundreds of thousands of people across
the region, lost power at his home. A heavy tree limb blocked his
driveway.

He estimated winds peaked between 80 to 90 mph in his neighborhood overnight.

"It was like being in a hurricane. I thought I was going to blow away," he said.

In heavily damaged Pasadena, schools and libraries closed and a local
emergency, the first since 2004, was declared. Officials said 40 people
were evacuated from an apartment building after a tree smashed part of
the roof.

Pasadena is known for its historic homes and wide oak-lined streets that are frequently depicted in films.

Many residents Thursday blamed the city for protecting its old trees
from over-trimming to such an extent that they have now become a public
safety hazard.

Vince Mehrabian, the general manager at A&B Motor Cars, estimated
eight Lexus, Cadillac and other luxury cars had been destroyed by
fallen limbs. He said he'd been asking the city for four years to trim
the trees more.

On a street around the corner, almost every tree was either cracked in half or missing limbs.

Elsewhere, Daphne Bell, a 30-year Pasadena resident, said she was
kept awake by howling wind. "This is the worst, the absolute worst.
There were times it sounded like a freight train was roaring down my
driveway," she said.

Similar stories of downed trees and power lines echoed across the
West, where winds in some areas ripped storefront awnings, filled
gutters with debris and forced school closures.

High winds ripped through Utah, overturning several semi-trucks on or
near Interstate 15. About 50,000 customers lost power along the state's
120-mile Wasatch Front as high winds took down power lines, but service
was restored to more than half of them by Thursday night.

Police asked schools to close in Centerville, where a 102-mph gust was reported. Mail delivery and trash pickup were canceled.

In Nevada, weather officials warned that blowing dust was creating visibility problems on a highway between Reno and Las Vegas.

In Steamboat Springs, Colo., the roof of a four-story condominium
complex was blown off and about 100 trees were knocked over, some
landing on homes. A ski area shut down its lifts after a gust of 123
mph.

Even some weather experts were surprised by the wind's force.

"It's one of the strongest events that I can remember," said Brian
Edwards, a meteorologist with Accuweather. "It's rather rare."

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...